Acting Transportation Secretary Giovanni Lopez has ordered the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and its attached offices to avoid ‘lavish’ year-end parties in ‘solidarity with victims of successive calamities.’
In a memorandum issued last October 30 and publicized on Wednesday, Lopez noted that year-end gatherings foster office morale and unity between members of agencies.
Meanwhile, he also said that the gatherings ‘entail the use of government funds and the time and effort of the offices involved in the preparation.’
‘In recent months, many fellow Filipinos from several regions of the country have been severely affected by natural calamities, including earthquakes, typhoons, floods, and volcanic eruptions,’ Lopez said.
‘It is deemed prudent and sensitive to forego large-scale celebrations this year,’ he added.
Lopez said the directive came following President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s directive to keep Christmas and year-end gatherings simple.
Recently, different parts of the country were hit by calamities, such as earthquakes in Cebu and Davao Oriental, and cyclones, such as Typhoon Tino, which has already killed 66 individuals in Cebu and other parts of Visayas.